Research Methodologies in Information Technology Research: a comparative Study

Research Methodologies in Information Technology Research: A Comparative Study
Dr. Abdel-Rahman Ismail
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Department of Business Administration
Al Zatoonah Private University of Jordan
Amman-Jordan
29/10/2014

Abstract
Today, IT and its related systems and services include every facet of the business and society. As a result, researchers in the IT field often consider the historical perspective regarding the issue at hand. Obtaining historical empirical research is usually the first step toward solving a problem. Additionally, the researcher usually needs or wants to know if any other organization has experienced a similar problem or situation. This is where case studies, interviews, and experiments become the preferred primary source of information.
The growth and advances in Information Technology (IT) have been stimulated by intense innovation and research efforts. Taking into consideration other research efforts in other industries, IT has shown to have one of the most funded research investments by organization and governments alike (Benbasat, 1996). This is due to the fact that IT and its services have become a critical resource for many organizations today driving profitability and boosting productivity.
This paper will attempt to analyze and discuss the types of research methodologies that have been used to conduct studies in the area of IT Project
Management. This paper will also attempt to compare and contrast these methodologies and analyze the issues of bias and limitations of these methodologies.

Introduction

Research, on a whole, is aimed at establishing new awareness, understanding, comprehension, or knowledge regarding a specific issue, problem, or controversy.
This diversity in the outcomes of research requires different research methods and techniques for different situations or questions. Towards that effort, research experts have introduced different research methodologies in an effort to provide researchers with the techniques they need to meet the diverse nature of research. These research methods are often classified based on either scope or the depth of the subject matter of the study.
Despite the fact that the field of IT research is fairly a new field, a variety of different research methods have been used in this discipline due to the diverse nature of IT and its related technologies. According to Benbasat (1996), the diversity in IT research can be seen in the array of topics that are being dealt with, the number of abstract areas being researched, and the multitude of research methods being utilized.
Bruce et al. (2005) categorize the nature of IT research in seven distinct categories.
These are:
1. Software development category, which encompasses the IT research efforts geared towards the enhancement of software, such as designing algorithms that provides instructions to hardware. Concepts such as programming, algorithm, logic design, and software engineering are dominant in this category.
2. Information practice category, which encompasses the IT research efforts geared towards augmenting the relationship between information and technology. In other words, IT is viewed as a process enabler by supplying

needed information. Concepts such as information manipulation (storage, retrieval, transfer, processing, and access) are dominant in this category.
3. Human-technology interaction, which encompasses the IT research efforts geared towards improving the relationship between IT and users. Dominant in this category are issues such as the how users interrelate with and use the variety of IT artifacts and the they need to make the best use out of these artifacts.
4. Applications to other disciplines, which encompasses the IT research efforts geared towards improving IT applications. In this category, the role of IT is viewed as a tool that is utilized by other disciplines to solve problems using IT artifacts.
5. Impact, which encompasses the IT research efforts geared towards the consideration of the impact that IT has on people as being a positive enhancement in their lives. Such impact is the rise of ubiquitous computing which refers to the third generation of computers where computing provides immediate response to people’s needs for services or information by connecting the functionalities that exist in the real world (Weiser, 1993.)
6. Sanctioned, which encompasses the views and opinions of non-IT people, such as university faculty or other scientists with interest in IT, who can influence the shape and form of IT research and what constitutes an acceptable
IT research.
7. Constructed, which defines those IT research efforts that have no specific category; therefore, the researcher based on personal interest or intention would define such a research effort. This category avoids neglecting those uncategorized research efforts which might prove to be relevant for IT.

Brooke (2002) on the other hand, categorizes the overwhelming majority of IT research in the application of IT in organizations. According to Brooke (200), such categorization includes the planning, utilization, and management of IT and its related resources in the organizational setting. Brooke (2002) further indicates that the nature of IT research is focused on answering the question of what works as far as the application of technology is concerned.